SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, we further examine the risk of solar flares and extreme solar storms.

A Timely Update, Thursday PM:

MAJOR X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: The sun just unleashed the strongest solar flare of Solar Cycle 25 (so far), an X2.8-class explosion from unstable sunspot AR3514. The blast caused a deep shortwave radio blackout over the Americas and may have hurled a fast CME toward Earth. Follow this developing story @ Spaceweather.com

Extreme Solar Storms More Frequent Than Had Been Thought?

Over at Forbes: Extreme Solar Storms May Be More Frequent Than Previously Thought.  This article begins:

“An international team consisting of scientists from nine countries has published a detailed study on a lesser-known solar storm—named Chapman-Silverman event after two astronomers who collected the first data—that hit Earth in February 1872. Their findings confirm that solar storms powerful enough to directly impact our infrastructure are more common than previously thought.

Coronal mass ejections or flares are powerful outbursts of charged particles traveling towards Earth. When such a flare hits Earth, it can cause a solar storm disrupting the planet’s magnetic field.”

Solar Storm From 1977 Reveals How Unprepared We Are

Solar storm from 1977 reveals how unprepared we are for the next ‘big one’.

Solar Storms: A New Challenge on the Horizon?

From the Council of the European Union:  Solar storms: a new challenge on the horizon? A pericope:

“Despite the infrequent occurrence of solar storms, the heavy reliance of our societies on electrical and digital technology means that the disruption to energy supplies could have serious consequences. But the extent of such disruption is unknown, not least because there has been no major solar storm since the advent of extensive electrification, digitalisation, and the space age. However the impact is likely to be very significant, and is likely to grow in the future as the twin transitions lead to a rapid expansion in electrification, with some forecasting a tripling of global power consumption by 2050.”

The Next Big Solar Storm Could Fry the Grid

By way of MSN, the WSJ reported: The Next Big Solar Storm Could Fry the Grid. Here is an excerpt:

“The most dangerous of these solar storms is known as a coronal mass ejection, when a gargantuan blob of charged particles is catapulted from the Sun’s atmosphere by rapidly shifting magnetic fields, at speeds in excess of 8,000 times that of sound. These happen often, but we’re rarely aware of them because they only affect us when they happen to strike earth.

What makes these huge blasts of particles so dangerous to our power grid and electronics is that, when they collide with Earth, the interaction of the sun’s magnetic field with our own can induce large currents in power lines on Earth. If you’ve ever moved a magnet back and forth across a copper wire to illuminate a lightbulb in science class, this is the same effect–but on a global scale. A solar storm can induce currents in power lines that are strong enough to trip safety mechanisms–or even seriously damage parts of our power-distribution infrastructure.”

U.S. Army Fights “Cognitive Threats” (You)

The Whatfinger.com news aggregation site klinke to this at Crusader Gal’s Substack: U.S. Army Fights “Cognitive Threats” (You)

Tally of 2023 Cyber Attacks

Kon Briefing posted a surprisingly lengthy tally of cyber attacks in the United States in 2023.

Major Cyber Attack Could Do $3.5 Trillion in Damage

Reuters reported this, back in October: Major cyber attack could cost the world $3.5 trillion – Lloyd’s of London.  JWR’s Comment:  One of my pet scenarios is that hackers ready a big cyber attack, and then launch it just before the arrival of an X-Class solar flare, for a double whammy.

Teens With Conservative Parents More Mentally Healthy

Bob Unruh, at WND: Teens more likely to be mentally healthy if they have conservative parents, study says.

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